URA posts HK$338 million operating surplus after three years of losses

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has recorded an operating surplus of HK$338 million (US$43.3 million) for the 2025-26 financial year, after reporting three straight years of losses.

At a banquet on Friday to mark the statutory body’s 25th anniversary, chairman Chow Chung-kong announced that the URA had returned to profit in the 2025-26 financial year, recording an operating surplus to fund ongoing urban renewal initiatives.

That followed three consecutive financial years of losses. Earlier this year, the cash-strapped body raised HK$8 billion by selling bonds to finance capital expenditure and new projects.

Chow said that despite a volatile external environment and property market fluctuations, the authority had adopted “flexible strategies” and used its resources to meet its operational targets, without elaborating on the strategies it used to turn a profit. Detailed financial figures were not provided on Friday.

“Improving residents’ living environments and ensuring the financial sustainability of urban redevelopment requires uniting the efforts of the government, the business community, professional sectors and district stakeholders,” he said.

A coming priority for the authority, he said, was to accelerate preparations for an enhanced “Smart Tender” scheme, aimed at enhancing support for property owners when they hired engineering consultants and contractors.

The authority was finalising specific measures and implementation details with the government, it said in a statement.